Camp MacArthur

Camp MacArthur (or Camp McArthur) was an American military training base in Waco, Texas during World War I.^[1] It was named for General Arthur MacArthur, Jr. on July 18, 1917.^[1]

Camp MacArthur, located on a 10,699 acre tract of land in northwest Waco, Texas, began $5 million construction on July 20, 1917. 18,000 troops from Michigan and Wisconsin arrived in September 1917.^[1] Within the camp was an officer’s training school, demobilization facility, and an infantry replacement and training camp, as well as a hospital, administrative offices, and a tent camp.^[1] Between 1917 and 1919, 45,074 soldiers were stationed at Camp MacArthur, nearly doubling the town’s population and boosting the area’s wartime economy. The Thirty-Second (Red Arrow) division based at Camp MacArthur participated in combat in France in 1918. On March 7, 1919, the camp closed and the land was encompassed into the city. Materials from the camp were used to build United States-Mexican border stations.

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